Chapter 32 Thayla
Thayla
My lungs fill with water as I scream into the dark, damning sea.
Cold stabs into my skin, stealing all my thoughts and strength as I try to swing my sword through the unforgiving water. The pins and needles shooting through me weaken my grip, and the creature’s thrashing rips the steel from my hands.
My fingernails dig into the slick skin of the tentacle wrapped around my waist as I kick and twist in a futile attempt to get free.
The creature’s grip only tightens, adding pressure to my chest that I can’t escape.
Their panic, my panic, mixes and collides in my soul with as much heaviness as the sea is pressing on my shoulders.
My hand stretches above me, reaching toward them and the last remaining ray of sun that cuts through the black abyss this beast is pulling me deeper into.
I attempt to comb through my despairing fright, find some power, find more strength, yet all I find is cold.
Everything is freezing but also scorching.
The salty water is searing my eyes that I can’t force shut. They search the darkness.
The cold shocks my nose as it rushes up my nostrils.
My chest burns as my lungs beg for breath.
I try to hold my arms up, keep fighting, keep clawing, but they become too heavy for me to hold.
A ripple of power pulses around me. The screech of the creature holding on to me is the only sound that pierces the deadly silence and my ears pop.
Another shock wave hits it, and it lets me go, but I sink.
I can’t move as my vision blurs, obscuring the dark shadow that swims above me.
My body convulses as my panic surges once again.
A massive eye rolls toward me. Its black pupil dilates as its bright, glowing white irises light up the darkness. The weight of its gaze tries to hold me still as I thrash against the tentacle coiling around me.
“Everything is okay, Thayla Godrun. You are in safe company now. Hold on.”
The soft, feminine, yet ancient voice impales my scrambling mind. I can’t slow my thoughts down enough to respond.
That wouldn’t matter anyway.
Faster than the wind cuts across land, this creature soars through the sea.
A weird, unfamiliar sensation zaps through me as I’m lifted up.
A gasp that nearly shreds my lungs to pieces rips out of me as I cough up water. I shiver as brisk air slams into my freezing wet skin, and my knees scrape across coarse rock. I don’t have the strength to hold myself up as I tumble to the side and my stomach revolts.
I throw up what feels like gallons of water and my body trembles with the aftereffect.
“The God of Discovery has requested your company, but rest assured, you are still safe. You may let your companions know. I will be back when I’m done helping.”
My head rolls to the side and I catch the quickest glimpse of pearly white skin sink back beneath the surface of the water.
“Wait,” I croak as my hand flops out toward her, but it’s pointless.
“V, Seismet, can you hear me?”
A frantic hoot crosses my mind and my eyes squint shut.
“Does the Valmareri have you?”
“Had me. I assume that was a Valmareri. She’s returning to help. Is everyone okay?”
“Are you okay?”
“No.”
“Where—”
I don’t hear the remainder of his thought before a voice clears far too close to me.
Internally, I freak out, jump to my feet, and fight.
My body does none of that as the chill sinks deeper into my bones. The best I’ve got is rolling my head back to the other side.
My gaze locks onto tender, worried eyes and a man who’s crouched about five or so feet away from me.
“This is not at all how I expected our introduction to go. I didn’t think the Ravarie would attack with the Valmareri trailing your ship. The Ravarie is attracted to power and the amount on your vessel must have been too much to ignore.”
“W-who are you?” I stutter.
His gaze grows wide. “Oh right, right. I’m so sorry. I’m forgetting myself here. I’m Doren, God of Discovery. Please let me help.”
He doesn’t give me the opportunity to agree or not as his arms slide under my head and legs and he lifts me from the stone.
I don’t have the strength to wrap my arms around him for support or even lessen some of my dead weight.
Air much warmer than what was just slithering over my skin hits me as soon as he walks through a threshold. My eyes nearly fall out of my head as we enter a room filled to the brim with…things.
Gold, jewels, books, pieces of ships, a couch…
He sets me down gently on the single piece of furniture, then rushes from the room. I continue to stare around in utter confusion and exhaustion.
“I apologize that this is all I have. I really wasn’t prepared for this to be how you found me,” he says as he drapes a small cloth over my shoulders. It definitely doesn’t help, but his frantic behavior and seemingly genuine worry are appreciated.
“Thank you, but I really didn’t find you if you recall.”
My teeth chatter together, and my entire body twitches involuntarily. His face crumbles as he scans this crowded room for something more.
“Right, well, you were going to find me. You were following my map to my island, which is also my home, and this would’ve gone a lot differently. Starza warned me the second the Ravarie attacked and she sensed you hit the water. I asked her to bring you here, which was my closest hideaway.”
“Hideaway? Look, I’m not trying to be rude and I’m grateful…Starza got me out of the water from that beast, but I’m really struggling to follow what you’re saying right now.”
“Right, okay, let me start from the beginning.” He lowers himself to the ground and crosses his legs. I tilt my head as he releases a deep, nervous breath and shakes himself out.
What is happening right now?
“Again, my name is Doren, and I’m the God of Discovery.”
“That part I understand.”
“Oh good.” He smiles, and my brows draw together. “My domain gives me many abilities. So many, it’s difficult to explain all of them, but what it’s most notorious for, though, is finding things. Objects, people, places, all things lost.”
My tremors momentarily cease as what he said is starting to make sense. “The map we were following, which is in the book, is about you. You’re Captain Tresor.”
He claps his hands together and his smile grows.
“Yes, I am. Well, sort of. After years of reading material brought back from the nonmagical realm, it was easy enough to adapt my story. I don’t have a crew or sail the sea, though.
Nor a fierce female out searching for me.
I mean, you were technically searching for me, but that’s not our love story foretold. No offense or anything.”
I can’t help but snort, although the action almost makes me throw up again. “None taken.”
“I’ll cut straight to the chase, Thayla, since we don’t have much time together, and the way your lips are turning blue is starting to frighten me.”
He opens the jacket he has on, and my body trembles for a whole other reason as power thrums through my veins. My gaze falls on the object in his hand that is unmistakably, no doubt, the Binding.
“How…where…what the fuck is happening?”
His smile turns sad, and I get second-hand longing just from his look alone.
“Many years ago, I was a servant to many of the Beginning Gods and the Domain Gods who are stronger than me. Physically anyway. I don’t just discover things.
With enough care, concentration, and preparation, I can discover secrets, plans, and motives.
If I try hard enough, I can discover almost anything.
“This kind of power is both a blessing and a curse. I’m one of few gods dubbed a Domain God but don’t actually have all their power.
The Beginning Gods refused to release it all to me.
My abilities were leading me down a path where I constantly had to decide between doing what I thought was right or what was going to keep me alive. I grew tired of being used.
“With some very resourceful allies, I faked my own death, left Godsden, and never returned. I hid among the regions for a long while until godly activity kept picking up. The possibility of being discovered frightened me enough, I ran here and have been here in the Lost Sea ever since.
“Fast forward some years, a pulse ripped through the sea. I stood on the edge of my island as Starza slowly rose, with this creation in her tentacle. As soon as my hands touched it, I received a message from the same being who sent you one. I was told a prophecy that is beginning to unfold and was instructed to hang onto this until the time came to give it to you.”
He slowly reaches forward, but my hands stay frozen in my lap. One from true fear of touching it and because I’m not sure I can move my fingers.
“I…why me?”
“I can’t tell you everything about the prophecy, but it has always surrounded the five of you.
Why you and not them is, sadly, simple. Your Valtrue, the sons of Obliteration, have always had two sides they could fall to.
Despite what they faced when in the clutches of their father, the possibility of falling back to the dark side was always an option.
The need for revenge, release of their rightful power, many other motivators kept their options open.
That’s no longer the case because of you.
They will forevermore always choose you. Without you, though, that falls away.”
My soul shudders in my chest when I think about them going back to the Abandon for whatever reason.
No, I won’t let that happen.
He stands and makes his way around a mound of his collectables, disappearing from my sight.
My heart races as I try to uncurl my fingers, and a painful whimper passes through my lips as pins and needles shoot up my arms. Even the breath I release is cold.
“I have one more thing for you before you go.”
My head shakes. I don’t want anything else.
He laughs but stops as he sees how blank, probably pale, my face is. Still, he holds up another object.
“A key?”
“Yes. You’ll know what it unlocks when you’re supposed to. Do you think you can starshoot these things to your ship?”